I was given the third book in this series to review; and although some series books stand alone, this one didn’t.  So I had to resort to my local library for the first two books.  Here’s the first one:

This book is intended for middle-grade children and not my usual fare but I found it extraordinarily entertaining.

In this world, females are expected to have and use magic; albeit only as an amusement or for the arts.  Males are expected to be muscle-ladened warriors and never have or use magic.  Callie is a twelve-year-old child who isn’t certain that they are anything in particular; however, they are sure they aren’t a girl.  Unfortunately, their mother has other ideas and isn’t kind in trying to make Callie fit that mold.  Fortunately, their father, the King’s (former) Champion Sir Nick, takes Callie away from all the toxicity and into a vagabond life living in the forest.  Which is, in Callie’s opinion, miles and miles better than living at home and not being themself. Their found family ends up including Neal who is Nick’s new love; and Callie couldn’t be happier with two Dads.  But it doesn’t last when the Kingdom calls Sir Nick back to duty.

The King has disappeared (I can’t really recall if the author gives a reason) and his son isn’t exactly measuring up for his impending King-hood.  The Chancellor has called on Sir Nick to take on the task of getting him ready to take the crown.  Callie is over-the-moon delirious with the thought of actually being able to train as a Knight; something they’ve always wanted.  Neal is less thrilled as his memories of living at Helston are not something he wants for Callie; so he stays behind in the forest.  Callie’s and Nick’s reception at Helston isn’t what either of them expects.  The Helston that Nick remembers has changed quite a bit.  And Callie begins to learn why Neal said that Helston doesn’t like ‘different’.  To begin with, no matter what either they or Nick says, everyone refers to Callie as Lady Calliden, a name that curdles inside them.  And Callie is forced away from their Papa and into the cloistered women’s section with the Queen.  Shunned by boys and men, and ridiculed (at first) by the girls, Callie finds little to be happy about.  But all that changes when Callie meets other children their age who aren’t exactly what their parents and their society expect them to be, either.

Elowen is an accomplished magic-user whose father is the Chancellor; and Callie feels all sorts of strange feelings around her.  Elowen doesn’t find anything about Callie to be strange and is perfectly willing to address them as Callie.  Elowen is, however, determined to help Callie learn magic and how to control it. Elowen’s twin is Edwyn and he is a textbook young knight.  Their father, the Chancellor Peran, is a hard man who firmly believes in the separation of males and females; and their place in society.  Elowen has learned to skate around the rules and pretty much does as she pleases.  Edwyn, however, is firmly under his father’s thumb and worries when he doesn’t please his father.  This turns out to be a really, really bad thing for Edwyn when he is later forced to choose between pleasing his father and defending his own honor.

But the person who most affects Callie is the young prince, Will – who desperately wishes to be called Willow as his parents used to.  With his father gone and his mother gone into seclusion, Will is left to his own devices and whatever current punishment and bullying from Chancellor Peran.  Nothing Prince Will ever does is good enough for Peran who seems to take particular delight in denigrating the boy whenever possible.  Callie knows a bully when they see one.

Callie, Willow and Elowen take to sneaking out of the castle at night to work on those skills denied to them.  Callie to drilling with a sword, Willow to using his forbidden magic and Elowen to watching over both of them.  When Callie learns of Willow’s plight, they determine they can secretly help train him without resorting to bullying.  What Callie is having trouble figuring out is why her beloved and ever-so-patient Papa isn’t able to figure out how to reach Willow; and they are prevented from seeing Papa to talk about it.

While all this middle-grade angst is handled well and doesn’t bore the pants off this grandmother; the book needed a bigger villain than even Chancellor Peran.  Enter the Dragon and a possible Witch in the forest threatening the kingdom.  Peran uses their existence to justify his actions even while sabotaging any real effort to protect the Kingdom.

The story revolves around the three children attempting to be true to themselves while navigating an adult world that doesn’t give them any opportunity to do so. The conflict arises over whether Prince Will can win a tournament and prove he’s king-material or if Chancellor Peran can use his failure as a stepping stone to power.  There’s also some anxiety over whether Callie and her Papa can be reconciled.  And a little bit of a nasty Dragon in there somewhere.  The Witch remains in the background; waiting for a later story, I’d guess.

I love the kids; and because this is a story for them, they do tend to be a bit smarter than the adults and able to save themselves. As I said earlier, this was very entertaining and I’m looking forward to two more stories. I imagine the target age group would get a lot out of this; I totally enjoyed how well the author melded good action and conflict with a social statement about gender and self-identification.  ~~ Catherine Book

For more titles by Esme Symes Smith click here